SYNOPSIS AND MISSION
The Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, the first Department of Archaeology in Sub-Saharan Africa, was established in 1951. Until 1963, it functioned as a research department; except for short courses given once a year to the students of the History Department. In 2008, the department was rebranded to become the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies. This also ushered in news programmes in heritage studies.
The Museum of Archaeology and the Leventis Foundation Centre have also been established in the department in 2008 to support teaching and research. In addition to pedagogy in archaeological, heritage and anthropological theories, students are given hands-on field and practical training in other to prepare them for the archaeological and heritage industries. The areas of specialization in the department include core archaeology, heritage studies, forensic archaeology, applied archaeology, visual anthropology, rituals and religion, and cultural anthropology.
The Leventis Digital Resource Centre was funded by the A.G. Leventis Foundation. Its goal is to develop a comprehensive digital repository of Ghana’s cultural heritage assets for educational and socio-economic developmental purposes.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
The centre’s activities include research, processing, and digital documentation of samples of archaeological and ethnographic collections, archival materials, photographs, videos/films, and sound that express aspects of the culture and cultural heritage of Ghanaian and other African peoples, and the production of relevant brochures, catalogues and other literature. The centre aims at positioning its repository to enhance research, teaching and learning about Africa’s cultural heritages and their relationship with those of other peoples of the world. It thus facilitates the training of students of culture and cultural heritage as well as staff in digital technology and in digital resource/data management.
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Accra, Ghana